Motion for a resolution - B8-0275/2018Motion for a resolution
B8-0275/2018

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Georgian occupied territories 10 years after the Russian invasion

11.6.2018 - (2018/2741(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Jaromír Štětina, Cristian Dan Preda, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, David McAllister, Dubravka Šuica, Sandra Kalniete, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Michał Boni, Elmar Brok, Michael Gahler, Andrzej Grzyb, Gunnar Hökmark, Tunne Kelam, Julia Pitera, Fernando Ruas, Michaela Šojdrová, Željana Zovko on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0275/2018

Procedure : 2018/2741(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
B8-0275/2018
Texts tabled :
B8-0275/2018
Debates :
Texts adopted :

B8‑0275/2018

European Parliament resolution on Georgian occupied territories 10 years after the Russian invasion

(2018/2741(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008, mediated by the EU and signed by Georgia and the Russian Federation, and the implementation agreement of 8 September 2008,

–  having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2016 on Association Agreements/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine[1],

–  having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2017 on the Annual Report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy[2],

–  having regard to the joint declarations of the Eastern Partnership Summits, notably that agreed in 2017 in Brussels,

–  having regard to the joint communications from the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), notably the report of 18 May 2017 on the implementation of the ENP review (JOIN(2017)0018), the joint staff working document of 9 June 2017 entitled ‘Eastern Partnership – 20 Deliverables for 2020: Focusing on key priorities and tangible results’ (SWD(2017)0300), and the 2016 communication entitled ‘A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign And Security Policy’,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in the Eastern Neighbourhood and, in particular, its recommendation of 15 November 2017 to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the Eastern Partnership, in the run-up to the November 2017 Summit[3],

–  having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the EU strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders;

B.  whereas the EU remains firmly committed to the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict, with complete respect for the fundamental norms and principles of international law;

C.  whereas after 10 years of military aggression, and since its invasion of Georgia during the August 2008 war, the Russian Federation continues its illegal occupation and is taking steps towards a de facto annexation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, thereby undermining international law and the rules-based international system;

D.  whereas 10 years after the Russo-Georgian war, the Russian Federation continues to be in breach of its international obligations and refuses to implement the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008;

E.  whereas the Russian Federation is further reinforcing its illegal military presence in Georgia’s occupied territories and intensifying the build-up and exercises of its military, thus seriously destabilising the security situation on the ground;

F.  whereas the Russian Federation continues to isolate Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia from the rest of the country by closing the so-called crossing points, installing barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers and further extending the administrative boundary line (ABL);

G.  whereas hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and forcibly expelled refugees continue to be deprived of their fundamental right to a safe and dignified return to their homes;

H.  whereas gross violations of human rights, such as the rights to freedom of movement and residence, to property and of access to native-language education, and illegal detentions and kidnappings continue to take place in the occupied regions of Georgia;

I.  whereas the Russian Federation, as a power exercising effective control over the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, bears full responsibility for the severe human rights breaches and the humanitarian situation on the ground;

1.  Continues to strongly support the principle of sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders;

2.  Demands that the Russian Federation cease its occupation of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as the inviolability of its internationally recognised borders, as provided for by international law, the UN Charter, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, the 1990 OSCE Charter of Paris for a New Europe and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;

3.  Demands that the Russian Federation reverse its decision on the recognition of the so-called independence of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia;

4.  Stresses the need for the Russian Federation to unconditionally fulfil all the provisions of the ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008, in particular the commitment to withdrawing all its military forces, and to guarantee the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) full and unlimited access to the occupied territories;

5.  Calls on the Russian Federation to adhere to the principle of peaceful conflict resolution, by reciprocating Georgia’s unilateral commitment to the non-use of force, as affirmed by the President of Georgia in his speech to the European Parliament of 23 November 2010;

6.  Calls on the Russian Federation to cease the further borderisation of the ABL, by refraining from installing barbed wire fences and other artificial barriers, and to stop its encroachment into territory controlled by the Georgian Government and the further extension of the ABL, steps which are designed to hinder people-to-people contacts and isolate the populations of both occupied regions;

7.  Urges the Russian Federation, as a power exercising effective control, to cease its violation of human rights, restriction of freedom of movement and residence, discrimination on ethnic grounds, and infringement of the right to property and access to native-language education in the occupied territories of Georgia;

8.  Urges the Russian Federation to allow the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes and to ensure unimpeded access on the ground for international human rights organisations;

9.  Confirms the EU’s strong commitment to contributing to the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict, by using all the instruments at its disposal as part of a comprehensive approach, including its Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, its co-chairmanship of the Geneva International Discussions, the EUMM in Georgia, and the policy of non-recognition and engagement;

10.  Stresses that only a consistent and firm stance from the international community against Russia’s policy of occupation and annexation can deliver a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Georgia and of other ongoing protracted conflicts in the former Soviet Union;

11.  Expresses profound gratitude to the men and women who have served in the EUMM; recalls that the EUMM is the only permanent international presence on the ground and provides impartial information on the situation along the ABL;

12.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the President, Government and Parliament of Georgia.

 

 

 

Last updated: 12 June 2018
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